Even the people who used to vote for Republican Rep. Devin Nunes are really starting to turn on him.
The voters who live in Republican Devin Nunes' California district are not very happy that their representative in Congress is busy engaging in bitter partisan bickering instead of fighting for their needs.
"He went from a local man who knew everyone and about everything in his district to a Washington insider who is nasty," said Shirley Kirkpatrick, a citrus farmer from Exeter. "He used to be able to speak without being so nasty."
Kirkpatrick, who lived in Nunes' district for 10 years before recent redistricting placed her in a neighboring district, was one of many people who spoke with the Fresno Bee, Nunes' hometown paper. Other comments shed light on what folks in his district think of him. And it is not pretty.
When first elected, many constituents were pleased with his work, especially around water issues in the region, which has many farmers.
"But," the Bee reports, "in the last few years, Nunes' public appearances and direct involvement with local projects have tapered off."
Paul Buxman, a fruit farmer in Dinuba, laments about the changes he has seen in his congressman. Buxman is a Democrat who previously supported Nunes, hoping that having a farmer in Congress would help the district.
Then, according to Buxman, Nunes changed and became more angry and partisan.
"He is lashing out, an isolationist, paranoid," Buxman said.
Buxman is one of the district's farmers who petitioned the court to force Nunes to remove the profession "farmer" from the November ballot. Rather than provide evidence that he is a farmer, Nunes lashed out at the media.
"I want to change that word so people know he is no longer a farmer — no longer connected to the heart of our Valley," Buxman told the Bee.
Amy Shuklian, a Tulare County supervisor, echoed Buxman's laments about the ways the congressman has changed.
"He really fought the good fight with water," Shuklian said. "But in the last few years, I'm not really sure what he's doing regarding that issue." Instead, Shuklian says Nunes seems overly preoccupied "by the stuff with the Trump administration and Russian investigation."
Nunes became a national laughingstock as he chaired the House Intelligence Committee's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He made outlandish and unverified attacks on the FBI, and then released a memo that was widely discredited. In the end, fellow Republicans admitted that Republicans had "lost all credibility" on the issue.
The Fresno Bee, which previously endorsed Nunes on eight consecutive runs for Congress, called him "Trump's stooge."
Some constituents, despite the scandals, are determined to stick by him out of loyalty to the Republican Party.
But that sentiment is not shared by everyone.
Mary Haven, a retired school teacher, has also stopped supporting Nunes. She wrote him a letter calling on him to stand up to Trump on a variety of issues, including Trump's "blatant disregard" for women, veterans, and others.
Haven is not confident he will listen, or even receive the letter.
"Some staff guy will throw it away," she lamented.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
